Wesley is 'fit and well' after being substituted early for Aston Villa's under-23s on Friday, according to the Birmingham Mail.

The striker departed after just 38 minutes of the Premier League 2 Division Two clash with Wolves as Wesley apparently felt a 'sharp twinge' in his right knee following a 50-50 challenge.

Wesley's grim absence

The Brazilian, a £22m signing from Club Brugge two summers ago, hasn't featured for Villa's first team since New Year's Day 2020, when he sustained a cruciate ligament rupture in a 2-1 win at Burnley.

Thankfully though, what would have come as a major scare on Friday is apparently nothing to worry about.

"It's been a long, hard road back for him," Dean Smith said last month, adding: "As coaches and staff we just have to be patient and work hard with him."

When he is fully fit, Wesley will be able to provide competition for Villa's top scorer Ollie Watkins. The Brazilian had scored five Premier League goals in his debut season before it was cut short.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Off the back of this update, you might think that Wesley would be able to get some first team minutes under his belt before the end of the season.

Villa's under-23s are back in action on Friday against Fulham, and if indeed Wesley is 'fit and well', you'd hope he can come through that match unscathed.

Smith will be keen to give him a morale-boosting runout soon enough. He has effectively lost more than a year of his fledgling career, and seen Watkins arrive to tie down the centre-forward role long-term given his impressive 2020/21 season.

In other news, what's the latest on Jack Grealish?